And, when I came across an article touting the hormone balancing effects of raw carrots, I decided to double those benefits by making fermented carrot sticks. Not only are they

Easy to make,

Delicious, and

Kids love them.

They are an inexpensive way to get lots of beneficial bacteria.

Rarely does something go wrong during fermentation,

And…

They’re ready in a few short days.

Plus, they can add a rainbow of color to your day. Just check out what I found during a recent trip to my local farmer’s market.

Fermented carrot sticks. Another great ferment for those with still a bit of trepidation when it comes to embracing our wonderful microbial world.

First off, two sets of benefits to share: hormonal balancing from eating carrots daily and the added benefits of fermenting carrots.

Hormone Balancing Impact of Carrots

“There are interesting associations between vegetable “fiber” and estrogens. Because of my own experience in finding that eating a raw carrot daily prevented my migraines, I began to suspect that the carrot fiber was having both a bowel-protective and an antiestrogen effect. Several women who suffered from premenstrual symptoms, including a migraine, had their serum estrogen measured before and after the “carrot diet,” and they found that the carrot lowered their estrogen within a few days, as it relieved their symptoms.” – Ray Peat, Natural Estrogens

Eating one raw – unpeeled – carrot a day can help to:

Remove toxins from your body.
Raw carrot skins – the peel – contain insoluble fiber that binds to toxins in our intestines and is eliminated in our stools. NOTE: If you peel your carrots, you are tossing away the health benefits of insoluble fiber. Darn, I like to peel my carrots.

Balance your hormones.
Endotoxins are a particular type of toxins that are bound to the insoluble fiber in carrots. Endotoxins are found in unhealthy bacteria and cause an imbalance in your hormones. By consuming carrots, endotoxins – particularly excess estrogen – get safely carried out of your body.

Can help your liver remove excess estrogen.
An overabundance of bad bacteria in your gut can cause bloating, gas and constipation and lead to a sluggish liver.
One of the jobs of your liver is to remove excess estrogen, but when it is burdened with toxins from the foods we eat and the stress in our daily lives, it can’t keep up. Excess estrogen then becomes a huge problem causing all sorts of health issues – in both men and women – such as mood swings, acne, allergies, thyroid issues and lack of muscle tone. Consuming insoluble soluble fiber lightens the load on your liver.

Health Benefits of Fermented Carrots

Are an excellent source of probiotics.
Similar to those found in yogurt, probiotics produced during fermentation are known to have many health benefits: improved digestion, enhanced immune system, better brain function to name a few.

Have increases nutritional value.
Lactic-acid fermentation produces and enhances the levels of enzyme, vitamins, and minerals.

Are easier to digest than raw or cooked vegetables.
Fermentation breaks down hard-to-digest cellulose.

Are safer to eat than raw vegetables.
Raw vegetables can have E.coli on them, but lactic acid produced during fermentation kill off the E.coli bacteria. They can’t survive in the acidic environment of fermentation.

5 Recipes for Fermented Carrot Sticks

You can effortlessly infuse the bright orange crunch of a carrot with the addition of a few simple seasonings: Garlic, dill, ginger, jalapeno peppers or onions all work nicely.

First, here’s the recipe in pictures followed by tips for success, 5 suggestions for flavoring your carrot sticks and then the step-by-step recipe.

Purchase Fresh carrotsI love fall at my Farmer's Market. Plenty of carrots for sale. Fresh carrots are your best choice, but a bag of carrots from the grocery store work just fine. Be aware however, if they have been stored for months, you might find them to be a bit woody.

Choose a Way to Flavor Your CarrotsGarlic, ginger, onions, jalapenos and various spices can all be used to flavor your fermented carrot sticks.

Recipe Flavors

Here are five ways to infuse your fermenting carrot sticks with just a bit of extra zing.

1. Sweet Garlic Fermented Carrot Sticks

For Fermented Sweet Garlic Carrot Sticks, slice 1-2 peeled garlic cloves into slivers. Place in the bottom of your jar.

2. Fermented Ginger Carrot Sticks

For Fermented Ginger Carrots, slice a 1-inch piece of ginger root into slivers. No need to peel the ginger. Place in the bottom of your jar.

3. Fermented Firecracker Carrot Sticks

For Fermented Firecracker Carrot Sticks, slice one or two jalapenos into quarters. To reduce heat, remove seeds and membrane. Place in the bottom of your jar. Feel free to add a pinch of oregano, cumin seeds and red pepper flakes for a greater depth of flavor.

4. Fermented Dilly Delight Carrot Sticks

For Fermented Dilly Delight Carrot Sticks, use 1 teaspoon dried or 1 tablespoon fresh dill. Place in the bottom of your jar.

5. Fermented Three-Onion Carrot Sticks

For Fermented Three-Onion Carrot Sticks, roughly chop one green onion and finely slice a bit of red and yellow onion. Place in the bottom of your jar.

Tips to Successfully Ferment Carrot Sticks

However, there are always questions as one ventures down the road of leaving food to “rot” in your kitchen. The step-by-step recipes follow these tips:

Recipe directions are for a one-pint (500 ml) batch.
Feel free to double the recipe and use a larger jar. Some like to use a narrow-mouth jar finding that the smaller opening helps to keep the carrot sticks submerged. With larger jars, there is no need to be careful about the length you cut your carrots.

Packaged baby carrots?
I would not use these – though very handy – due to the fact that they are typically given a chlorine – which inhibits fermentation – bath during processing.

To peel or not to peel?
I’m a peeler though I probably shouldn’t be. Guess why?
The greatest concentration of microbes – that make fermentation happen – reside in the peels of root vegetables (The part that comes in contact with the dirt where those little buggers live.). By peeling the carrot, one is hindering the process of fermentation.
And… as we learned above, the peel contains insoluble fiber that binds to toxins and removes them from your body.
Time for me to eliminate one of my hangups: The bright and clean carrot look!

My favorite salt for fermentation is Himalayan Pink.
I talk about the best salt for fermentation here, here. In short, use a non-iodized salt.

Use a 2% brine strength.
This is for the geeks out there; the rest of you, just follow the recipe. Use 2% salt by weight for the weight of water you’re dissolving your salt in.

Leftover brine (not fermented)?
If you do not need all of the brine you mixed up, just keep the leftovers in a jar in your refrigerator for future fermentation projects. It will keep for a few weeks.

Below the brine.
For worry-free fermentation, it is best to use some sort of weight to hold the carrot sticks below the brine. However, if packed tightly they seem to stay below the brine on their own.

On the left, I use the Pickle Plunger to keep everything submerged. One the right, I’m placing a Pickle Pebble into my jar of carrot sticks.

No airlock?
Airlocks allow excess gases to escape. If you don’t have an airlock and you want to be super safe, though I don’t feel carrots create enough CO2 to warrant it, burp the jar once daily during the first 3 days.

Simple flavors.
I’ve kept the recipes simple with the addition of just one flavoring item, usually. You can also ferment them on their own with no extras. A hard one for me.

Adjust fermentation time based on ambient room temperature and desired product.
Ideal fermentation temperature is 65-70°F (18-21°C) is ideal.
If it is super hot, shorten; cold, lengthen.

Eat the fermented flavoring items.
When using garlic, ginger, hot peppers, etc. to add flavor to your ferment, you are also fermenting those items and they can be eaten as well.

Keep your fermented carrot sticks handy.
My fermented carrot sticks greet me front and center when I open the refrigerator and are just begging to be snacked on. You might need to do likewise so they are not forgotten somewhere in the back of your refrigerator.

Instructions

PREP FLAVORING ITEM. Place what you'll be using to flavor your carrot sticks in the bottom of a wide mouth pint (500 ml) jar, or jar size of your choosing.

PREP CARROTS. Gently scrub clean. Then, slice carrots lengthwise to just the right length (one inch shorter than the height of your jar) and snugly pack into the jar on top of your flavoring item leaving one inch of head space. If you prefer, you could also cut the carrots crosswise into disks.

MAKE BRINE. Mix 1 tablespoon of salt with 2 cups of water. Stir with a fork until somewhat dissolved. If there's some undissolved salt, don't worry, it will dissolve during fermentation.

POUR BRINE over carrots letting it percolate down. Stop when brine is 1 inch from the top of the jar. Jostle the jar to get the brine between all the packed carrots and add more brine, if necessary. Screw on lid, snugly. Label with the date.

FERMENT. Place in a shallow bowl on your kitchen counter, out of direct sunlight to ferment until active bubbling stops, usually 7-10 days depending upon the temperature of your room Feel free to taste them. The carrots are ready when bubbles have stopped rising to the surface, there is a slightly sour aroma and the carrots taste tangy.

STORE. Add the fermentation length to your label and put in the refrigerator. Your fermented carrots may be eaten immediately, but will increase in flavor with time and will keep for up to a year, though they lose color as the months go on.

Ways to Eat Fermented Carrot Sticks

Either eat your fermented carrots sticks straight out of the jar or try plunging them into one of these dips:

That looks like Kahm yeast. Is it powdery or slimy? If powdery, then it’s harmless Kahm yeast. Remove as much as you can and enjoy. Usually from too much air exposure. Next time, fill the jar to the top. Did you use a lid?

If slimy and sticky, you have an imbalance in bacteria and I would probably try again. But, let’s figure out what to do different next time first.

Thanks for your prompt reply and helpful advice. The yeast is not slimy, (it’s like when you put the soup in the fridge and the oil on the surface hardens into little white stuff on the top). I have the lid on but I only filled the jar half full. Probably with the carrot shredded it ends up like that!! I shredded it as I thought I could eat it like sauerkraut 🙂
It’s a good learning experience anyways and I’ll try again! Thanks Holly.

Hi Holly. I do a lot of “quick pickling” starting with a vinegar brine for jalapenos and beets, etc. I prefer a saltier brine all around. With the fermentation method, will the heftier salt content negatively impact the balance and outcome? Thanks.

Good question. It’s hard to say because I haven’t done any vinegar “quick pickling.” I would say, just give it a try with a pint jar. You have nothing to lose and much knowledge to gain. The carrot sticks use a 2% brine. What if any salt gets added to a vinegar pickle?

Thanks. I’ll play it by ear.
Couldn’t give you a percentage. I just salt my quick brine until I’m satisfied with the taste. It varies. Some people prefer a sweeter brine and add more sugar than salt. It’s definitely one of those things that everyone has their own recipe for.

I have made these several times and my family really likes them! There is a lot of brine left after we finish the carrots. I have saved it and occasionally drank a “shot” but I was wondering if I could add it to my finished saurkraut that has little brine of its own left?

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